A Ghost Story
by The seventh cat
Summary: It is fascinating how ostensibly inconsequential events may have a huge impact on our self-perception. Friends play a vital role in life. Sometimes they might even be the one pillar keeping our view of the world from crumbling. Rated T for dark themes.
1. Chapter 1

**Warning: may contain traces of Horror, Angst & Romance.**

 **Enjoy~**

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom and Nine Inch Nails.

Sam reached for the bag of chips as Tucker stared at the screen waiting for the video game to load. One minute remained.

"Man, I've been saving up to buy this game for months!"

"Yeah, you might have mentioned it once or twice…" retorted Sam wiping her hands in her skirt and taking a sip of diet coke.

"I know, it's so awesome! Can't wait till Danny's online"

"He's playing with us?"

"I promised him we'd play tonight, hope you don't mind"

It was a two-player game and Sam knew it. The boys had been rambling on about it incessantly for the past week. The goth checked her phone. 18:16 Her parents had to be home by now. _Great_. She stuffed one last handful of chips into her mouth, swung her bag over her shoulder and stomped out of Tucker's room.

"Have fun" Sam cried sarcastically slamming the door behind herself.

The bashful drizzle turned into a confident downpour. The black-clad girl groaned quickening her pace, but instantly slowed down again. She was in no rush to get home. In fact, she had relied on Tucker to distract her for several more hours until she could inconspicuously sneak into her room unseen.

"A friend in need is a friend indeed" Sam murmured pulling up her hoodie.

~ O ~

Upon arrival the goth dashed into her room, locked the door, located Nine Inch Nails in her playlist and turned up the volume of her headphones. She checked her phone. No new messages. _Of course_. Danny was busy playing with Tuck. Something in their group dynamics had changed. They no longer waited for her for lunch, they would sit at their table discussing comic books. Naturally, she was always welcome to join them, but they hardly included her in the conversation. The three of them used to hang out together at Fenton Works every day after school. One day she had just stopped coming. The boys didn't seem to mind, they never even asked her why.

Sam lay on her bed, eyes perusing the walls. They didn't care. A ghost could attack her right then and there and they wouldn't know until her photo appeared on milk cartons.

"I wonder if this is what it feels like to be a ghost!" She threw a pillow at the chair half expecting an answer. Silence. The goth sighed standing up to change out of her wet clothes. She turned off the lights and buried herself beneath the covers, strands of jet-black hair leaving damp patches on the fabric. Scenes involving Danny and Tucker played themselves on repeat in her head, shared high-fives when they forgot to turn to her, empty water bottles taking the spot of her lunch tray, inside jokes she wasn't privy to. Everything eventually sizzled down to darkness.

~ O ~

A pair of violet eyes blinked open. It was well past midnight. Sam rolled over reaching for her phone. One new messages.

" _1 038 283 points! I totally kicked Tucker's ass! Lunch is on me tomorrow :)" – Danny_

She let out a chuckle placing t back on the nightstand. However before she could settle back under the covers a pale garment in the corner caught her attention. The goth sat up confused. She didn't own any white clothes. It appeared to take a step in her direction. She shivered now completely focused. The fragile form of a little girl in a yellowish nightgown emerged. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail revealing a calm alabaster countenance. Her bare feet paced noiselessly sending the garment above swinging gently with every movement.

"Hello?" Sam managed to say after a moment, struggling to keep the fear out of her voice. The little girl halted, grim inky eyeballs meeting wide violet orbs. Without warning the ghost bolted towards Sam with a chilling shriek. Only then did the goth notice the metal object in the girl's hand. Before she could react it pierced her abdomen.

~ O ~

Sam jumped gasping, fingers pressed over the wounded area. She hastily jerked up her T-shirt to examine the damage. Her skin was intact. Not a drop of blood in sight. Not even a scar. She closed her eyes relieved, falling back into her pillow. Bright rays were spilling across the room.

 _I should definitely cut back on horror movies._

After a couple of minutes her alarm went off. The goth pushed the button irritated.

"Time for another glorious day at school" she groaned standing up and heading towards the bathroom.

~ O ~

Adolescent banter filled the cafeteria. Popular girls showed off their new clothes to each other glancing diminutively at every person who came too close. Sam joined the lunch line with her tray listening to their vain giggles.

"One of these days…" she muttered to herself glaring at them. The goth made her way to her usual table. Today she was the first one there. She dug into her veggie burger reflecting on her nightmare. Her life wasn't exactly a fairytale, the least she deserved were decent dreams…

Danny and Tucker placed their trays on the table.

"Hey Sam" Danny croaked, bags visible beneath his eyes.

"Hey. What's up with you? I haven't seen you guys all day"

"Yeah, long night. Skulker decided to pop in and say hi" said Tucker with a yawn. "Good thing we were prepared"

"What? Skulker attacked and you didn't call me?" She stared in disbelief.

"Of course we called you. Right Tuck?"

"Weren't you supposed to do that?" asked the techno geek with his mouth full.

"No… Sorry Sam, we'll call you next time" The half-ghost ate his burger in three bites. "Hey Tuck, mom and dad have some new inventions. Wanna check them out?"

"Let me guess. An upgraded version of the Fenton thermos?" Tucker chuckled wiping his face with a napkin. "Count me in"

The two boys stood up with their trays.

"Bye Sam"

"Yeah, see ya"

The goth watched as they disappeared from view.

 _I'd like to see the inventions, too. Thanks for asking._

She sat there alone for a minute gazing down at the crumbs in her empty dish.

 **This was part 1. The question is… are you intrigued enough to read part 2?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Heyo, so here** **'** **s part 2.**

Grey clouds hung heavy above Amity Park. A certain goth lay on her bead drawing while music blasted from her headphones. When the song ended she checked her phone. 11:13 No new messages. She rolled her eyes and began changing into her PJs.

"They must be having one hell of a time without me" Sam groaned before returning her art supplies to the desk and switching off the lights. Once again she lay awake. She recalled the week Mr. Lancer had fallen sick last year. Danny was still a normal boy back then so instead of fighting ghosts and doing homework the three of them would hang out at her place watching movies, playing video games and eating all day. That was one of the happiest weeks of her life. Spent with the two people who understood her and whom she trusted most. At the time, that is. Her thoughts got blurry as she fell asleep.

~ O ~

Thunder reverberated through the room pulling her eyelids open. The goth turned to glare at the window. _A storm, perfect_. She checked her phone. No new messages. An unpleasant premonition made her glance at the opposite corner. Sam's heart started racing as she drew the covers up to her face. The little girl was staring at her.

"Not this again" Sam cried half terrified, half annoyed. A kitchen knife gleamed in the ghost's tiny hand. It walked towards her slowly, raising the object higher with each step.

"What do you want?" The goth's voice trembled. When she reached the bed the little girl stopped to study Sam with empty dark eyes.

"You want it" the child chimed.

"What?" Sam managed to utter before the ghost drove the knife straight into her neck.

~ O ~

Sam woke up screaming. She wrapped her hands around her neck failing to find any signs of injury. The goth curled up burying her head in a pillow.

"I'm going crazy" she whimpered to the sun-drenched wall before her. "I-I'm going insane"

~ O ~

She caught a glimpse of Danny and Tucker in the school hallway. They were passionately discussing something, another ghost fight or perhaps their video game. Sam faced her open locker, eyes pinned to the notebook in front of her. The teenage boys passed by without noticing her presence. A lump formed in her throat and tears trickled down her cheeks. Her head shifted in their direction just as some kid bumped into Danny. A small metal object escaped the half-ghost's bag and landed on the floor with a clink. He apologized distractedly and continued. The goth approached the item and examined it. _A Swiss Army knife?_ She turned it over in her hands. It occurred to her that this was likely another Fenton invention with an entirely different purpose. Its owner was nowhere to be seen now. Sam slid it into her pocket and returned to shut her locker, tears dripping from her chin.

~ O ~

The goth stared at the ceiling in silence. Ponderings were flooding her mind as always. School, water bottles, the ghost, rain, notebooks, her parents, drawings, Danny, Tucker, video games… She checked her phone. 11:42 No new messages. Sam got up to change. The Fenton invention fell out of her pocket and onto the carpet. She moved it to the nightstand before switching off the lights and crawling into bed. Her thoughts tortured her until she curled up in a fetal position sobbing into her pillow.

Sam finally opened her eyes turning to gaze at an expected visitor. She watched the alabaster-coloured ghost approach her. For a minute the two remained speechless. The little girl placed her miniature hand on the object on the nightstand. Sam sat up to follow her gaze.

"You want it" spoke the ghost directing its attention back to her. The goth lifted the Swiss Army knife.

"Yes" she whispered. She pulled out the blade. It seemed longer in the moonlight, its gleam reflecting in her eyes. The little girl observed her calmly. Sam's grip tightened as she positioned the knife at the height of her stomach. One. Two. Three.

"Sam!" a familiar voice called and something collided with her arm. She looked down to see a growing blood stain on her T-shirt. The little girl was gone. Instead two white gloves were holding her by the shoulders.

"Sam, can you hear me?!"

She saw a pair of wide green orbs frozen with horror. Her vision was getting blurry.

"I…had to" was all she could say before darkness engulfed her.

~ O ~

When she regained consciousness she felt drained. From what she could make out it was still night, she was lying on the floor of her own bedroom and somebody was stroking her hair. Noticing her breathing change Danny shifted to face her and rested his forehead against hers.

"For a moment there I thought I lost you" He planted a kiss on her temple and pressed her to his chest. "Sam…"

A strong sensation of dizziness spread through her body.

"Danny… What are you doing here?"

"That thing has a built-in tracking device. I was searching for it"

The goth felt something wrapped around her upper arm. It was a piece of white cloth soaked with crimson. A part of Danny's T-shirt, she figured.

"You cut your arm, nothing else" Danny pulled back propping up her head so that their noses were almost touching. "Sam. Why?" He wore a grave look. Sam tried to collect her thoughts.

"…My life doesn't make a difference. It's as if I don't exist. Nothing would change if…" She choked and Danny drew her in, placing his chin on top of her head. Sobs racked her small frame.

"Sam. Everything would change"

"You and Tuck…" She failed to finish another sentence.

"We're terrible friends. I'm so sorry" He held her tighter. "We don't deserve you" He carefully picked her up, carried her to the bed and embraced her anew. "How did I let it come to this? I'm so blind" Danny cupped her face with his hands, kissed her forehead and closed his eyes. "Don't ever scare me like that again, ok? I'd rather die than have to witness you do that to yourself"

"Did you catch the ghost?" Sam mumbled.

"Which ghost?"

"The little girl in my room. She vanished when you came"

Danny's eyes opened to look at her concerned.

"Sam, I didn't sense any ghosts. You were alone"

The goth blinked. It was becoming near impossible to focus on anything. Danny stroked her cheek tenderly.

"You're tired. You need to sleep" He pulled up the covers and wrapped his arms around her protectively. "I'm here now, Sam"

Two words escaped her lips as she drifted off.

"Thank you"

 **So, I was inspired to write a story in which Sam attempts suicide. The next day I discovered half a dozen fanfics similar to mine. What can I say? The idea simply makes sense…  
I might write another fanfic at some point if I get enough positive reviews. Criticism regarding writing style, plot etc. is welcome.**


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